It was just past noon when they returned to the Gu family home. Gu Jin Rong came over to mooch a meal, saying he wanted to eat the osmanthus dew dumplings she made.

After he finished the dumplings, he reluctantly left, as he had arranged to play cuju with Gu Jin Xian in the courtyard that afternoon. “…He doesn’t like studying, and eldest cousin doesn’t like physical activity, so he always asks me to accompany him for these things,” Gu Jin Rong said. “I’ll be back again tonight.”

Jin Chao smiled. “If you come again, you’ll eat me into poverty. Go keep Grandmother company for dinner tonight, she’s been missing you for days.” Jin Xian used to keep company with Ye Xian, but now Ye Xian had no time to accompany him.

Gu Jin Chao thought about how in her previous life, Gu Jin Xian had risen to become the Minister of Justice. In this life, since the Marquis of Chang Xing’s family hadn’t encountered trouble, the Gu family wouldn’t target the Fifth Madam, and the Fifth Madam wouldn’t die with her unborn child, he wouldn’t go down the path of serving as a villain’s accomplice like in his previous life… but he would never become the Minister of Justice either.

Gu Jin Rong said, “Grandmother called me over just yesterday to talk… Didn’t you just have me change my page boy? She wanted to assign two maids to serve me, but I refused, saying I didn’t need them, and she didn’t say anything more. However, she did send over one of her servants, saying she would take care of my food and clothing.”

Madam Feng relatively valued Gu Jin Rong, so naturally she wanted to place spies around him.

Gu Jin Chao asked him, “What do you think of this servant?”

Gu Jin Rong thought for a moment and said, “She’s quite diligent, but often finds excuses to talk with me and sneaks into my study… I didn’t like it, so I had her manage the kitchen affairs instead, and I kept my study locked most of the time. Still, I don’t want her serving me, she’s always in the way.”

Jin Chao said, “Since Grandmother assigned someone to serve you, you can’t just send her back. But the person assigned to you is now yours to command. Reward her frequently, use both kindness and strictness to control her, and she will obey you.” She asked Qing Pu to fetch a pair of red gold auspicious cloud pattern bracelets, and told Gu Jin Rong, “Give these to her and have her wear them every day.”

Gu Jin Rong took the gold bracelets but didn’t quite understand. “Elder Sister, why are you giving her gold bracelets?”

Jin Chao smiled slightly. “A rough servant like her has never seen fine things and silk and gold move people’s hearts. We’re not refusing her service, but we want her to focus solely on serving you, not doing anything else. If you give her these red gold bracelets, she’ll be reminded every time she looks at them.”

Moreover, when Madam Feng saw these gold bracelets, she would certainly suspect that the servant had been bought by Gu Jin Rong. Even if that wasn’t the case, she would still feel a divide. After all, the servant was attending to Gu Jin Rong, not under her direct supervision.

Gu Jin Rong finally understood. “Don’t worry, Elder Sister, I understand. If she truly reports everything to Grandmother, so be it. I have nothing to hide, let her investigate all she wants! But Grandmother being so wary of me is too much…”

Jin Chao spoke with him for a few more moments before he left to play cuju with Gu Jin Xian.

She yawned, feeling tired, and called out “Qing Pu” saying, “…Light the brazier, I want to take a nap.”

Qing Pu’s hands were tightly clenched. She bent down and whispered to Gu Jin Chao, “Young Miss, please don’t sleep yet. Young Master was just here, and I couldn’t bring this out. Please look at this…” She took a paper roll from her sleeve and handed it to Gu Jin Chao.

The paper roll was sticky from sweat. When Gu Jin Chao unfolded it, she saw it was just an inch-long note with only four characters: “Granary Affairs Director.” The handwriting was the neat Guange style commonly used by scholars, clean and orderly. Gu Jin Chao closed the note, instantly wide awake. She asked Qing Pu, “Where did you get this?”

Qing Pu closed the latticed door of the western side room before coming back to Jin Chao and saying, “…This morning when we were leaving De Zhong Ward, just as you got into the carriage, someone slipped this note to your servant, instructing ‘Give this to your young miss.’ I saw that he was tall and rugged, and seemed to have martial arts training…”

Gu Jin Chao thought this sounded familiar and asked, “Was he wearing a blue short jacket and black cloth shoes?”

Qing Pu nodded, suddenly realizing, “Yes, he seemed to be the carriage driver we saw at the silk shop!”

Gu Jin Chao thought to herself that it was indeed Third Master Chen’s driver, Hu Rong!

Hu Rong was illiterate and couldn’t have written this note, and besides, he didn’t know her.

The handwriting appeared unremarkable, but the strokes were powerful and vigorous, something that couldn’t be achieved without over a decade of practice. It must have been written by Third Master Chen and given to Hu Rong to deliver to her. But what did Chen mean by these four characters, and why would he give her such a note?

Gu Jin Chao fell into deep thought.

“Granary Affairs Director” was an official in the Ministry of Revenue’s Granary Department. Her father worked in the Ministry of Revenue, specifically managing the Granary Affairs.

Third Master Chen was the Minister of Revenue, her father’s superior’s superior.

But no matter how she looked at it, this made no sense. Third Master Chen and she had only met once, so why would he write these four characters to her?

Had he seen her there at that time?

With these four characters, was he trying to tell her something, or was he trying to convey something to her father through her?

Gu Jin Chao thought the latter was more likely, as Third Master Chen had no reason to write these four characters to her specifically.

Qing Pu asked softly, “Miss, who is this person, and why would he write such a note to us?”

Gu Jin Chao murmured, “I wish I knew…”

She had Qing Pu help her change clothes, planning to find her father in the front courtyard. She didn’t understand Ministry of Revenue matters, but if Third Master Chen truly had something urgent to tell her father, she needed to speak with him.

Gu De Zhao happened to not need to go to the ministry that day and was playing Go with Fifth Master Gu De Xiu in his study.

After the servant announced her, Gu De Zhao let Jin Chao enter. She bowed respectfully to him and Gu De Xiu. Gu De Zhao called her over to talk, “You’ve come at a good time. Look at your father’s position in this game, blocked at every turn by your Fifth Uncle…”

Jin Chao smiled and said, “Father knows that my Go skills are quite poor. I have something to discuss with you, perhaps we could speak privately.”

Gu De Zhao excused himself to Gu De Xiu and followed her out of the study. Gu Jin Chao rarely came to find him, and when she did, it was usually for something important. So he asked seriously, “…What do you wish to discuss with your father?”

Jin Chao hesitated. She wasn’t sure if Third Master Chen could be trusted. If he had provided false information and she misled her father, causing him to fall into a trap, that would be unacceptable. So she changed her approach and asked, “Father, who is the Granary Affairs Director who works with you? Are you familiar with this person?”

Gu De Zhao laughed. “Why do you ask? The original Granary Affairs Director was from Liangxiang in Fangshan. He even sent gifts for your coming-of-age ceremony. But now he’s been transferred to the Tax Bureau as a Tax Director, so the Granary Affairs Director position is currently vacant.”

Her father, being a proper sixth-rank official, felt he shouldn’t discuss such matters with Gu Jin Chao, a young woman from a sheltered household, and tried to be discreet.

Gu Jin Chao smiled helplessly, pulled on his sleeve to sit in the main hall, and had Shui Ying bring tea.

Her expression grew much more serious. “Father, this is urgent. Please tell me about this Granary Affairs Director. What work did he do under your supervision, and why was he suddenly transferred to the Tax Bureau… Do you think there was anything unusual about him?”

Gu De Zhao gave his eldest daughter a strange look but, out of trust, slowly explained, “He managed the granaries. There’s one in the capital and two in Daxing under his supervision. Now there’s a famine in Shanxi, and all this grain needs to be transported there for relief. He’s going to Shanxi with the imperial envoy, which is why he was transferred to the Tax Bureau. As for anything unusual, at most, he’s been claiming illness and hasn’t gone to the Six Ministries office for several days… Jin’er, why are you inquiring about this? Did someone tell you something?”

After hearing this, Gu Jin Chao frowned in thought. “Has he been claiming illness these past days? Have you visited him?”

Gu De Zhao shook his head with a smile and said, “The Granary Department has twelve clerks, twenty-three recording clerks, one accounting clerk, and four keepers. If your father visited everyone who fell ill, how would I manage? However the famine in Shanxi is severe, and Master Yuan has already submitted several memorials. He wouldn’t be unaware of the gravity of the situation. Your father isn’t worried about him, so naturally I haven’t visited…”

When Gu Jin Chao heard the name Master Yuan, she asked Gu De Zhao, “…Could that be Master Yuan Zhong Ru?”

Gu De Zhao nodded, “Yes, that’s the once-famous Top Scholar Yuan Zhong Ru.”

Gu Jin Chao had heard of this man in her previous life. He and Third Master Chen were fellow scholars from the same imperial examination. Back then, Chen had become the second-ranked scholar at a young age, while Yuan Zhong Ru was thirty when he was imperially appointed as the Top Scholar. Later, he rose to become the Provincial Administrative Commissioner of Shaanxi and was friendly with Fan Chuan… Now, Fan Chuan’s faction had been beheaded or exiled, with very few surviving. Yuan Zhong Ru knew how to stay out of trouble and was cautious, which was why he had survived until now.

This matter involved Yuan Zhong Ru… Gu Jin Chao’s eyelid twitched. In her previous life, Yuan Zhong Ru eventually died. When he returned to the capital to report on his duties, a censor impeached him, and he was imprisoned for embezzlement. He died of illness in prison a few months later, supposedly from the plague, with no one even claiming his body…

She thought for a moment and said to Gu De Zhao, “Perhaps you should check on his illness. If it delays the famine relief in Shanxi, that would be troublesome… You might bear some responsibility then…”

Gu De Zhao wanted to say more but held back. Gu Jin Chao was indeed acting strangely today. These court matters… why was she asking about them?

Jin Chao knew her father still had doubts, but explaining the origin of the note would be bewildering not only to Gu De Zhao but even to herself… So she said to Gu De Zhao, “You know I have an accountant, Master Cao, who used to be an advisor to the Keeper of the Imperial Seal. I heard about this today from Master Cao when I went out. He used to know this Granary Affairs Director and thought the man was quite unusual. Please go see him first… If something is truly amiss, you can come back and tell me…”

Gu De Zhao hesitated for a moment before saying to Gu Jin Chao, “Since you’ve mentioned it, your father will go check. But you must arrange for me to meet this Master Cao sometime. This Master Cao shouldn’t be discussing court matters with you so casually. What good is it for you to know all these messy affairs?”

Gu Jin Chao nodded in agreement. She watched as her father harnessed his carriage and left, only then did she feel slightly relieved.